Chocolate-grinding machine.



A. L. BAUSMAN.

CHOCOLATE GRINDING MACHINE.

ABPLIOATION FILED JULY 21,1910

Patnted Aug. 13, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

WITNESSES:

. Z BY 4160 N Arron/:1?

A. L. BAUSMAN.

CHOCOLATE GRINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21,1010.

Patenfied Aug. 13, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. E. inlllm 1 w Lm WITNESSES-N 7Q E mtg/21W R,

- Q) N ATTORNEY. a5

N. A. L. BAUSMAN. CHOCOLATE GRINDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, 1910. 1,035,303. Patented Aug. 13, 1912. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES: 1N VEN TOR.

' WXM A 77' ORNE 1".

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO LINTON BAUSMAN, OF CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CHOCOLATE-GRINDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 21, 1910. Serial N0. 573,125.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALONZO LINTON BAUS- MAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicopee, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Chocolate-Grinding Machines, of which the following is aspecificat-ion.

This invention relates to improvements in confectionery machines and more particularly to improvements in machines for grinding chocolate, that is to say the cocoa bean which has first been ground by another or similar machine and then mixed wit-h cocoa butter and sugar, preferably granulated. This mixture, which is in a liquid form and heated is forced into contact with a revolving plate, whereby the whole is rendered of uniform consistency and fineness. The texture or fineness of the finished product depends, of course, upon the rate at which the mixture is ground. pump of suitable design is usually employed for forcing the material into the machine.

Broadly, the invention consists-(1) in employing a rotary grinding element provided with burs or a roughened surface upon its opposite faces which is located in close relation to fixed burs or grinders, and suitable means for forcing or feeding the material to be ground into the space between the fixed and rotatable-elements, as described and claimed; (2d) in the employment of a duplicate force feeding mechanism for conveying the material to the opposite sides of the rotatable element, the effect of which is to produce a balancing position upon the rotatable grinding element and cause the material to be discharged in equal quantities and of the same fineness from the opposite sides of the rotatable element. 7

In the'drawings forming part of this application,-Figure 1 is a plan view showing the general arrangement and relation of the operative parts to each other and the driving means for the pump and grinding elements; also the pipe connections from the pum to the opposite sides of the rotatable grin ing disk. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, showin the gear connection between the driving an the driven shafts on which the grinding element is mounted, the fixed members of the grinding elements, and the pipes for conveying the material to be ground to the grinding chambers on opposite sides of the rotatable member, and the means for taking up any wear of the shaft on which the rotatable grinding element is mounted in its bearings. Fig. 3 is a detail, transverse, sect1onal view on the line 3-4), Fig. 2, showng one of the faces of the rotatable grinding member and the inlet and outlet-pipe connections for conveying a cooling medium to the cooling chambers. Fig. 4 1s a sectional view on the line 4-4, Fig. 3, showing the relation of the roughened surfaces to each other, and the shape of the indentations therein which effect the grinding.

Referring to thedrawings in detail, (1 indicates the base portion of the machine; I) and c the standards mounted thereon and in which the driving anddriven shafts are mounted in bearings therein.

d designates the driving or power shaft which is provided with a pulley e for receiving p power from any suitable motor source, as by means of the belt 2 and on the inner end of this shaft is secured a pinion f -which meshes with a gear that is secured to the driven shaft h which is mounted in the bearing 0 and attached to its inner end by means of the threads h 'is the rotatable grinding member 2' which is provided with a roughened surface on its opposite sides as shown and rotates between the fixed grinding elements 7' and 7a which are secured to the cooling and supporting members m and 0 cored out so as to provide the chambers 72 for receiving any suitable cooling medium by means of the pipe connections (1 and 1", as shown in Fig. 3.

The fixed grinding elements j and 7a are attached to the inner faces of the supporting members m and 0 by means of the bolts .9, and in these supporting members are formed openings or passage-ways t into which are threaded pipe connections at and 0 that lead, by means of the pipes to and :12, to a suitable pump shown at y for forcing the material to be ground into the'grinding chambers. This pump is driven from the pulley'e by means of a belt 2, and the material or mixture is drawn into the pump y by means of the pipe connection shown at 3 that leads to a suitable supply reservoir (not shown).

In order to accurately adjust the grinding spaces on opposite sides of the rotatable grinding member 2' there are provided a plurality of equally spaced bolts 4 about the periphery of the supporting members at and which extend through the fixed members in parallel relation to the axis of the machine, as shown in the sectional view Fig. 2; and located on these bolts 4 is a coiled spring 5, normally under compression, against which the nut 6 presses. This construction permits the member 0 to yield outwardly during the grinding process andalso serves, asstated, to equally adjust the grinding spaces, as indicated at 7. The outer supporting member 0 is connected with the member m by means of the supporting bolts 7 which serve for the member 0 to slide on.

Located on the bolts tare washers or tubular elements 4 which are for the purpose of definitely spacing the members at and 0 from each other. The coiled spring 5 permits the supporting member 0 to move slightly outward away from the rotatable grinding member 2', should any obstruction to the free delivery of the ground product occur, as by clogging or sticking of the material being ground. By permitting one of the supporting members m or 0 to slightly yield, the machine can readily free itself of the obstruction and soon regain its normal operation. Theclogging or sticking sometimes occurs by reason of the material becoming too cool, or by reason of the material becoming too hot, which is caused by friction during the grinding operation. The material is kept at proper temperature by means of a suitable cooling medium, as water, which has been referred to above.

In the pipes w and m are located suitable valves 8 and 9 for the purpose of regulating the flow of the mixture in equal volumes to the opposite sides of the rotatable member. These valves therefore serve to maintain equal pressures on the opposite faces of the rotatable member 2' and eflect a balancing of this member. The result of maintaining the rotatable member 11 in a balanced posi tion, or in the same .plane during rotation, by reason of feeding the material to be ground in equal volumes to the opposite side of the grinding member 2', is to cause the finished material to issue from .the grinding spaces 7 in the same fineness.

The shaft h is mounted in bearings 10 and 11 which are split sleeves .or bushings, as indicated by the lines 12 and 13 Fig. 1. The supporting member 0 is provided with a boss 14 and ears 15, in which are secured the threaded bolts 16. Mounted onthese bolts are the yokes 17 which are attached or made integral with the bearings 10 and 11. These yokes are forced inward and held in their adjusted positions by means of -the nuts 18, and as they are slightly tapering, as shown in Fig.2, it will be seen that any wear or lost motion between the shafts and bearings may be readily taken up. The

outer end of the shaft is supported in a bearing 19 which is part of an armQOthat is secured, oi made integral with, the standard 0. i

The bur or grinding elements shown in Fig. 4 are provided with roughened surfaces or indentations 21 and 22 which are shown as pointing in opposite directions, the'rotatable member z of which moves in thedireotion of the arrow shown at 23 in Fig. 4..

The material which. is to be ground is forced into the grinding spaces 7 and then carried from one pocket to the other during the grinding operation, as readily understood. The ground material issues-from the grinding'spaces 7, as indicated at 7 into suitable receptacles (not shown).

I do not-limit myself to any'particular form of grinding burs or elements,that shown in the drawings being merely typical of any of those that are efficient for this purpose.

From the above construction it will be seen that my improvement for grinding chocolate is one that permits the-ready adjustmentof the parts in order that the fineness of the 'material as it issues from the machine may be accurately adjusted and the rate of discharge regulated by means I of the valves in the pipes, and also by means of the bolts 4: and the nuts and springs thereon. allow for the expansion and contraction of the metal due to variations in temperatures, and thus prevent the metal grinding plates from sticking together when cold.

The pressure from the pump can be employed to increase the capacity of the machine, if desired. This force feed determines the speed at which the material can be ground which flows out all around the grinding disk 11. e

. On account of the construction of the narrow or discharge annular openings 7 2 there is always a large volume of the material which is being ground or acted upon bythe grinding element; that is to say, held back or retained in the spaces 7, thus insuring the" thorough grinding or reducing of the chocolate to the required fineness.

What I claim, is

1. A chocolate grinding machine comprising a rotatable grinding member, a pair of fixed grinding members designed to cooperate with said rotatable member and having inlet openings therein to convey the material to be ground to the grinding members, a positive force-feed mechanism, and pipe connections between said feed mechanism and the inlet openings in the fixed grinding members, and means in the pipe connections to equalize the pressure on opposite sides of the rotatable member.

2. A chocolate-grinding machine comprising a rotatable disk-shaped element having The springs serve as means, to

its opposite faces roughened, a pair of fixed rincllng elements located in close proxim- 1ty to the said disk element and having their proximate faces roughened, one of the normally fixed elements bein adjustable and having an inlet passage t erein, the other fixed element having an inlet passage in its axis, a positive force-feed device, pi e con-' nections between said device and t e two inlet passages in the fixed disks, valves in 10 the pipes whereby the flow and the pressure of the chocolate material may be equally regulated to the opposite sides of the rotatable disk-shaped element.

ALONZO LINTON BAUSMAN. Witnesses:

K. I. CLEMONS,

HARRY W. BOWEN. 

